Helicopter sling load electrical connector

ABSTRACT

A means and method for electrically connecting the electrical system of a load means to the electrical power supply of a lifting means. The disclosed embodiment uses a removable pair of insulating members having contacts which, when affixed to the cargo hook of a helicopter, form bus bar means along the sides of said hook. A sling body member comprising nylon straps has contact means fastened at spaced points so as to contact the bus bars when a load is suspended from the hook by the sling, thus providing electrical continuity between circuitry in the helicopter and the load.

United States Patent [151 3,647,170 Beeker et al. 1 Mar. 7, 1972 [54]HELICOPTER SLING LOAD 1,786,369 12/1930 Terrell et al.... ....339/ BELECTRICAL CONNECTOR 2,567,872 9/1951 Burke ..294/74 Inventors: Charla-sw. Becker, Baltimore; Royale R. 2,933,651 4/1960 Legge ..339/11 X CrabtmTowson both of Primary Examiner-Milton Buchler [73] Assignee: The UnitedStates of America as Assistant Examiner-Gregory W. OConnor representedby the Secretary of the Army Attorney-Harry M. Saragovitz, Edward J.Kelly, Herbert Ber! [22] Filed: M 4, 1970 and Bernard J Ohlendorf [21]Appl. No.: 34,291 [57] ABSTRACT A means and method for electricallyconnecting the electrical [52] US. Cl ..244/ 136, 294/74, 339/6, t m f aload means to the electrical power supply of a 1th- 339/23, 135 ingmeans. The disclosed embodiment uses a removable pair [5 l 1 Int. Cl-..Bfi of in ulating members having ccntacts which when amxed to [58]Field of Search ..24 4/136, 137; 339/6 8 R, 8 A, the cargo hook f ahelicopter, f bus bar means along the 339/8 P, 28, 135, 10, /49, 191/45A. 2 ides of said hook. A sling body member comprising nylon straps hascontact means fastened at spaced points so as to 56 R t (ed contact thebus bars when a load is suspended from the hook 1 8 I by the sling, thusproviding electrical continuity between cir- UNITED STATES PATENTScuitry in the helicopter and the load.

Hoobler ..339/

8 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures FATENTEDMAR H972 3,647, 170

INVENTORS Charles M. Beaker Raye/e R. Grabfrp HELICOPTER SLING LOADELECTRICAL CONNECTOR DEDICATORY CLAUSE The invention described hereinmay be manufactured, used, and licensed by or for the Government forgovernmental purposes without the payment to us of any royalty thereon.

Our invention relates to a means and method for electrically connectinga load electrical system to a lifting means electrical power supply.

The prior art means and methodology necessitated the connection of theload electrical system to the lifting means power supply during thelifting operation sequence, such as the connection of the electricalsystem of a chemical dispenser means to an aircraft power supply asdisclosed in US. Patent application Ser. No. 773,824 field 6 Nov. 1968,now U.S. Pat. No. 3,558,005 issued Jan. 26, 1971. Prior art means andmethod presented the problem that the electrical connection could notalways be satisfactorily made during the lifting operation sequencewhich resulted in delay in the lifting operation and/or malfunction ofthe electrical system subsequent to the lifting operation due to afaulty electrical connection. Our invention was conceived and reduced topractice to overcome the aforementioned prior art problem.

The principal object of our invention is to provide a reliable andeffective means and method for electrically connecting the electricalsystem of a load means to the electrical power supply of a liftingmeans.

Another object of our invention is to provide a reliable and effectivemeans and method to easily and rapidly electrically connect theelectrical system of a load means to the electrical power supply of alift means.

Other objects of our invention will be obvious or will appear from thespecification hereinafter set forth.

FIG. 1 is a view showing the utility of our electrical connection meansafter the electrical system of a load means has been electricallyconnected to an electrical power supply of a lift means.

FIG. 2 is a view through 22 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an exploded view showing a hook means for a lift means, ourelectrical connector means to insert on the hook means, and a slingmeans to connect the load means to the lift means.

FIG. 4 is a view through 4-4 of FIG. 6.

FIG. 5 is a view of ourelectn'cal connector means to connect to a lifthook.

FIG. 6 is a view of our electrical connector means to connect to thesling means shown in FIG. 3.

FIG. 7 is a view of the terminal means for our connector means shown inFIG. 5.

Our invention as shown in FIGS. 1 to 7 will now be described in detailas follows.

Two metallic contacts 1, such as copper, are fixedly mounted on aflexible electrically insulating member 2, such as nylon fabric, by anyconventional method, such as a rolled edge-clamping means, as shown inFIG. 6. Contacts 1 are separated from each other, within the skill ofthe art, a predetermined distance on insulating member 2 to suit a givenapplication and so that contacts 2 will contact bus bars 3, as shown inFIG. 2, when the load, not shown in the drawing, is lifted, as shown inFIG. 1, by attaching a conventional sling member 4, such as a nylonfabric sling, to a conventional load cargo cable 5, such as steel cable,on one end of the sling and to a conventional hook means 6, such as asteel hook, attached to the other end of the sling; the hook means beingintegral with any conventional lift means, not shown in the drawing,such as an aircraft, helicopter for example, or other type of hoist.Conventional electrical leads 7 are connected to contacts I in theconventional manner, such as by soldering, at one end of the leads andto a male metallic snap fastener 8 in the conventional manner, such asby soldering or by solderless lugs, at the opposite end of the leads asshown in FIG. 6. Conventional electrical lead 9 is connected to a femalesnap fastener 10 in the conventional manner, such as by soldering orsolderless lugs, at one end of the lead and to a conventional electricalplug connector 11 at the other end of the lead; plug 11 being providedto connect to a mating plug connector which is connected to the loadelectrical system, the load electrical system and mating plug not beingshown in the drawing and not a part of our invention. Fasteners 8 and 10are interchangeable andfixedly mounted on insulating material, such asnylon fabric, and plug 11 can be male or female, depending on the matingplug connector of the load electrical system. Insulating member 2 isremovably connected to the inner surface of sling 4 by any conventionaland convenient means, such as snap fabric fastener straps 23, strapswith buckle fasteners, straps with metal snap fasteners, etc.; as shownin FIG. 6. Prior to the lifting operation, such as prior to helicoptertakeoff to pick up a load, rigid insulating adapter 12, such as Bakeliteor other suitable plastic, which has been molded to fit theconfiguration of hook 6 is inserted on hook 6 by placing member 13 onone side of hook 6 and member 14 on the opposite side of hook 6 andsecuring member 13 to member 14 by snapping male snap connector 15within female snap connector 16, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3; member 13being manufactured to have symmetrical configuration to member 14. Toremove adapter 12 from hook 6, members 13 and 14 are separated byplacing the thumb and forefinger in fingerholes 17, as shown in FIGS. 3and 5, and pushing members l3 and 14 apart to disconnect connector 15from connector l6. Leads 18 of the terminal means shown at 19 in FIG. 7are connected to bus bars 3 in the conventional manner, such as byinserting the leads within slots in the bus bars and brazing the leadswithin the slots, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 5. Conventional electricallead 20 is connected to terminal 19 at one end of the lead in theconventional manner, such as by soldering, and to a conventionalelectrical plug connector 21 at the other end of the lead by anyconventional means, such as soldering; plug 21 being provided toelectrically connect to the lift means conventional power supply, thepower supply not being a part of our invention and not shown in thedrawing. Plug 21 can be either male or female and is selected dependingon the mating plug of the lift means power supply, and plug 21 isconnected to the power supply prior to the lifting operation sequence,either prior to or subsequent to the connection of adapter 12 to hookmeans 6. Slots 22 are provided in bus bars 3 to assist in removing anycorrosion which might build up on contacts 1; the corrosion beingremoved as the load swings when suspended from the lift means.

To utilize our above described device, adapter 12 is inserted on hook 6;plug 21 is connected to the lift means power supply, AC or DC; hookmeans 6 is brought into position by a lift means over a load havingcargo cables 5 attached thereto and inserted through sling 4 with outinsulator member 2 attached thereto; sling 4 is inserted over hook 6 asshown in FIG. 1; the load is raised to be transported to a predeterminedsite by the lift means, the weight of the load causing a downward pullon sling 4 and bringing contact 1 into good electrical contact with busbars 3 to connect the load electrical system which can be AC or DC tothe lift means power supply; and, when the load has reached thepredetermined site, the load electrical system is activated to perform apredetermined function, such as to dispense material from a containermeans, by a conventional switching means located within or on the liftmeans; the switching means not being a part of our invention and notshown in the drawing.

It is obvious that other modifications can be made of our invention, andwe desire to be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

1. A system for electrically connecting an electrical system of a loadmeans to an electrical power supply of a lift means comprising a liftmeans having a hook means integral therewith, a power supply integralwith the lift means, a load means having an electrical system integraltherewith, and a sling means to connect the load means to the hook meanswherein the improvement in combination therewith comprises a pair ofelectrical contact means fixedly mounted on an electrically insulatingmember attached to the sling means and a bus bar means integral with anadapter means mounted on said hook means, said contact means engagingsaid bus bar means.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the contact means are copper and theinsulating member is nylon fabric, the contact means being separated onthe insulating member a predetermined distance to permit electricalcontact between the contact means and the bus bar means upon suspensionof the load means from the lift means.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the insulating member is adapted to beremovably mounted on the sling means by a plurality of strap means.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein the contact means are electricallyconnected to a first electrical plug connector through a firstelectrical lead means connected between the contact means and a firstpair of metallic snap fastener means and a second electrical lead meansconnected between a second pair of metallic snap fastener means and thefirst electrical plug connector; the first and second metallic snapfastener pairs being adapted to be connected together to complete anelectrical circuit and the first electrical plug connector being adaptedto connect to a mating electrical plug connector integral with theelectrical system of the load means.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein the adapter means comprises a pair ofsymmetrical insulating members formed to a predetermined shape to fitthe configuration of the hook means; a bus bar means fixedly mounted onthe outer surface of each symmetrical insulating member at apredetermined location, the location being positioned to provideelectrical contact with the electrical contact means upon suspension ofthe load means from a lift means; a terminal means having a pair ofleads integral therewith, the terminal means leads being electricallyconnected to the bus bar means; a plurality of slots formed in the busbar means, said slots being provided to remove any corrosion from thecontact means; an electrical lead means electrically connected to theterminal means at one end of the lead means and electrically connectedto a second electrical plug connector at the opposite end of the leadmeans, the second electrical plug connector being provided toelectrically connect to a mating electrical plug connector integral withthe power supply of the lift means; a snap fastener means fixedlymounted in each symmetrical insulating member, the fastener means beingadapted to secure the adapter means on the hook means; and a fingerholemeans formed in each symmetrical insulating member, the fingerhole meansbeing adapted to disconnect the snap fastener means.

6. A method of electrically connecting an electrical system of a loadmeans to a power supply means of a lift means using the system of claim5 comprising the steps of placing each symmetrical insulating member onthe hook means; securing the symmetrical insulating members together onthe hook means by the snap fastener means; electrically connecting thesecond electrical plug connector to the mating electrical plug connectorintegral with the power supply; placing a cargo cable through the slingmeans, said sling means having the electrically insulating memberattached to the inner surface of the sling means; attaching the cargocable to the load means, electrically connecting a first electrical plugconnector to a mating electrical plug connector integral with a loadmeans electrical system, moving the hook means integral with the liftmeans to a location above the load means; placing the sling means overthe hook means; lifting the load means by operating the lift means;establishing electrical contact between the contact means and the busbar means by the suspension of the load means from the lift means;transporting the load means while suspended from the lift means to apredetermined site; and actuating the electrical system of the loadmeans to perform a predetermined function over the predetermined site.

7. A cargo sling to lift a load means comprising a sling body member andan insulating member adapted to be removably attached to the sling bodymember wherein a pair of electrlcal contact means are fixedly mounted onthe insulating member a predetermined distance apart, said distancebeing located to provide electrical contact between the electricalcontacts and a bus bar means on a lift means when the load means issuspended from said lift means.

8. The cargo sling of claim 7 wherein the contact means are electricallyconnected to an electrical plug connector through a first electricallead means connected between the contact means and a first pair ofmetallic snap fastener means and a second electrical lead meansconnected between a second pair of metallic snap fastener means and theelectrical plug connector; the first and second metallic snap fastenerpairs being adapted to be connected together to complete an electricalcircuit and the electrical plug connector being adapted to connect to amating electrical plug connector integral with an electrical circuit ofthe load means.

1. A system for electrically connecting an electrical system of a loadmeans to an electrical power supply of a lift means comprising a liftmeans having a hook means integral therewith, a power supply integralwith the lift means, a load means having an electrical system integraltherewith, and a sling means to connect the load means to the hook meanswherein the improvement in combination therewith comprises a pair ofelectrical contact means fixedly mounted on an electrically insulatingmember attached to the sling means and a bus bar means integral with anadapter means mounted on said hook means, said contact means engagingsaid bus bar means.
 2. The system of claim 1 wherein the contact meansare copper and the insulating member is nylon fabric, the contact meansbeing separated on the insulating member a predetermined distance topermit electrical contact between the contact means and the bus barmeans upon suspension of the load means from the lift means.
 3. Thesystem of claim 1 wherein the insulating member is adapted to beremovably mounted on the sling means by a plurality of strap means. 4.The system of claim 1 wherein the contact means are electricallyconnected to a first electrical plug connector through a firstelectrical lead means connected between the contact means and a firstpair of metallic snap fastener means and a second electrical lead meansconnected between a second pair of metallic snap fastener means and thefirst electrical plug connector; the first and second metallic snapfastener pairs being adapted to be connected together to complete anelectrical circuit and the first electrical plug connector being adaptedto connect to a mating electrical plug connector integral with theelectrical system of the load means.
 5. The system of claim 1 whereinthe adapter means comprises a pair of symmetrical insulating membersformed to a predetermined shape to fit the configuration of the hookmeans; a bus bar means fixedly mounted on the outer surface of eachsymmetrical insulating member at a predetermined location, the locationbeing positioned to provide electrical contact with the electricalcontact means upon suspension of the load means from a lift means; aterminal means having a pair of leads integral therewith, the terminalmeans leads being electrically connected to the bus bar means; aplurality of slots formed in the bus bar means, said slots beingprovided to remove any corrosion from the contact means; an electricallead means electrically connected to the terminal means at one end ofthe lead means and electrically connected to a second electrical plugconnector at the opposite end of the lead means, the second electricalplug connector being provided to electrically connect to a matingelectrical plug connector integral with the power supply of the liftmeans; a snap fastener means fixedly mounted in each Symmetricalinsulating member, the fastener means being adapted to secure theadapter means on the hook means; and a fingerhole means formed in eachsymmetrical insulating member, the fingerhole means being adapted todisconnect the snap fastener means.
 6. A method of electricallyconnecting an electrical system of a load means to a power supply meansof a lift means using the system of claim 5 comprising the steps ofplacing each symmetrical insulating member on the hook means; securingthe symmetrical insulating members together on the hook means by thesnap fastener means; electrically connecting the second electrical plugconnector to the mating electrical plug connector integral with thepower supply; placing a cargo cable through the sling means, said slingmeans having the electrically insulating member attached to the innersurface of the sling means; attaching the cargo cable to the load means,electrically connecting a first electrical plug connector to a matingelectrical plug connector integral with a load means electrical system,moving the hook means integral with the lift means to a location abovethe load means; placing the sling means over the hook means; lifting theload means by operating the lift means; establishing electrical contactbetween the contact means and the bus bar means by the suspension of theload means from the lift means; transporting the load means whilesuspended from the lift means to a predetermined site; and actuating theelectrical system of the load means to perform a predetermined functionover the predetermined site.
 7. A cargo sling to lift a load meanscomprising a sling body member and an insulating member adapted to beremovably attached to the sling body member wherein a pair of electricalcontact means are fixedly mounted on the insulating member apredetermined distance apart, said distance being located to provideelectrical contact between the electrical contacts and a bus bar meanson a lift means when the load means is suspended from said lift means.8. The cargo sling of claim 7 wherein the contact means are electricallyconnected to an electrical plug connector through a first electricallead means connected between the contact means and a first pair ofmetallic snap fastener means and a second electrical lead meansconnected between a second pair of metallic snap fastener means and theelectrical plug connector; the first and second metallic snap fastenerpairs being adapted to be connected together to complete an electricalcircuit and the electrical plug connector being adapted to connect to amating electrical plug connector integral with an electrical circuit ofthe load means.